Unused to not getting his own way since winning a supermajority in 2010 and reelection in 2014, Orban was caught offguard by the ultimatum and initially said he would “consider” Vona’s gambit.

But Orban later told parliament that the government “would not give in to blackmail” and urged Jobbik not to connect the bond scheme with the change to the constitution which he called “an affair of national importance”.

– ‘Sweeping victory’ –

Observers say Tuesday’s vote could set the scene for a growing power struggle between Fidesz and Jobbik ahead of the next scheduled general election in 2018.

“If Jobbik do not back the amendment, it would unquestionably wound Viktor Orban. It would be the first time since 2010 that the parliament votes against the PM, or that Orban has failed to get through something important to him,” leading news website Index.hu wrote on Monday.

The parliamentary ballot follows an expensive and divisive referendum on October 2, in which 3.3 million voters backed Orban’s rejection of the European Union’s troubled refugee quota plan.

The ballot, however, was deemed invalid due to low turnout in the nation of nearly 10 million people.

Undeterred, Orban still hailed the outcome as “a sweeping victory” over “Brussels bureaucrats” and vowed to change the constitution to “reflect the will of the people”.

Submitting a draft amendment personally to parliament the week after the referendum, Orban proposed a ban on migrant settlement without the approval of the national assembly and authorities.

“Foreign populations cannot be settled in Hungary,” the amendment reads. Individual foreigners (not including EU nationals) can only live in Hungary with the approval of Hungarians, it continues